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Brief History of GenevaThe first traces of human civilization in Geneva,
discovered on the shores of Lake Léman, date from around 3000 BC. The hill of
the Old City, however, was not inhabited until 1000 BC. Later, when Rome
conquered Geneva, it was defended by a small Celtic tribe. In 58 BC, Julius
Caesar drove off an attack by the Helvetii. At the height of the Roman Empire,
The region was settled in 443 by a Germanic tribe, the Burgundians, but they were defeated later by the Francs, who occupied it in 534. Geneva was incorporated into the Merovingian dynasty, then into the Carlovingian Empire. The latter's disintegration in the 11th century led to the rise of the Second Burgundian Kingdom, to which Geneva belonged. In 1032, the kingdom passed into the hands of the Germanic emperors so Geneva legally became subject to the Empire. In practice, though, from the 11th century to the Reformation, it was ruled by its bishops, who had become the de facto lords of the city. Geneva did not develop into an important centre until the end of the Middle Ages when its fairs, reaching their peak in the 15th century, first gave it an international reputation. Its independence, however, was threatened by Savoy, whose princes strove unsuccessfully from the 13th to the 17th century to force the town into submission. At its time of gravest danger, during the first third of the 16th century, the city' autonomy was saved by the intervention or the Swiss cantons of Fribourg and Bern. When the Reformation triumphed in 1535, the city became a republic. Calvin made Geneva his home the following year, and it was through his genius that the city earned the name "Protestant Rome". From 1550 onwards, persecuted Protestants, mainly French and Italians, streamed into Geneva in search of sanctuary. Under the guidance of Calvin and Théodore de Bèze, they gave their new home a greater religious and intellectual influence. The refugees also helped to redress the economy, which had been in recession since the fairs had gone into decline at the end of the preceding century. In 1602, the Duke of Savoy, Charles Emmanuel, launched an abortive nighttime attack against Geneva, which has come to be known as the "Escalade" (literally, "scaling the walls"). The festival commemorating it on December 11-12 is Geneva's main patriotic celebration. A second wave of refugees flooded into Geneva at the end of the 17th century following Louis XIV's savage persecution of Protestants in France. The 18th century was a period of enormous prosperity when industries - horology is the best known - business and banking flourished. Rousseau was born in Geneva in 1712 and Voltaire lived there from 1775 to 1778. On the other hand, Geneva was shaken by political and social agitation. The Geneva revolution of 1792 brought down the aristocratic government of the Ancient Régime and proclaimed political equality. Geneva was annexed by France in 1798 and made the administrative centre of the Department of Léman. Its freedom was restored on December 31, 1813, following the defeat of Napoleon's armies. The republic's magistrates then applied for its entry into the Swiss Confederation. This was granted in 1815. A revolution in 1846 led by James Fazy overthrew the government of the Restoration and established the constitution that is still in force in the canton today. During the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th, Geneva welcomed many political refugees. Based on the ideas expressed by the Genevan, Henri Dunant, the International Committee of the Red Cross was founded in 1864, the first of many international organizations to settle there. Geneva's international role was confirmed after the First World War when it was chosen as the site for the headquarters of the League of Nations, the forerunner of the United Nations Organization. Sites to See in Geneva Geneva’s biggest celebration is L’Escalade, commemorating the failed attempt by the Duke of Savoy to seize the town by surprise on the night of December 11–12, 1602. Locals dress up in costume and parade by torchlight around the streets with drums and fifes, groups of kids sing in city-centre cafés, and confectioner’s sell the Marmite d’Escalade, a small pot made of chocolate and filled with marzipan “vegetables” to commemorate a Genevan housewife who dispatched a Savoyard soldier by tipping her boiling soup over his head from a high window. A few days before is the Course d’Escalade, a fun-run through town. Geneva’s Fourth-of-July celebrations for US Independence Day are the biggest in the world outside the States, and its Swiss National Day festivities, every August 1, are equally spectacular. The Fêtes de Genève (Geneva Festival) is the city’s premier annual pageant, held in early August on the waterfront, with music of all kinds, love mobiles and techno floats on the lake, theatre, funfairs, street entertainers, stalls selling food from around the world, and an enormous lakeside musical fireworks display. During the last week of August and early September, La Bâtie Festival de Genève features live music and theatrical performances. Finally, Geneva’s famous Motor Show, held every March in the Palexpo arena, is the largest and most prestigious in Europe. Geneva’s Rive Gauche (Left Bank, or southern bank) is lined with the tall, blank, almost disapproving facades of dozens of bank buildings. Behind the banks, the arrow-straight Rue du Rhône – principal thoroughfare of Les Rues-Basses, once a dockside slum and now Geneva’s fanciest shopping district – stretches a kilometre or more east, crammed with jewelers, department stores and designer boutiques of all kinds. A throng of traffic streams over the Pont du Mont-Blanc beneath the spectacular view of Europe’s highest mountain (4807m), which stands some 80km distant amidst the Savoy Alps beside the immense, shimmering blue lake and its extraordinary water-spout. At the foot of the bridge is the charming lakeside Jardin Anglais, focused around a double statue celebrating Geneva’s joining the Confederation in 1815, a fountain, bandstand and famous Flower Clock. The Jet d’Eau spouts only 400m along the lakeshore, while Parc La Grange, 1km further east along the lakeshore, is a landscaped expanse of some forty thousand rose bushes which drench the air with scent for most of the year. West of the Pont du Mont-Blanc, past the bustling Place du Molard with its medieval tower, is the Pont des Bergues, with a footpath midway along it linking to a tiny island, the Île Rousseau, formerly a bastion and now a minuscule public garden graced with a statue of the Genevan philosopher. With such controversy surrounding Rousseau, even half a century after his death the city authorities were grudging in honoring him, and the statue, behind its sheltering camouflage of trees, originally faced the empty lake – to all intents and purposes cut off from view until the Pont du Mont-Blanc was built alongside in 1861. At its western end, the Rue du Rhône feeds into hectic Place Bel-Air, sliced across by tramlines and bus-wires. The Pont de l’Île spans the river here across an island, which boasts the diminutive Tour de l’Île, last remaining tower of a thirteenth-century château. Grandiose Rue de la Corraterie heads south to yet more grandiose Place Neuve, dominated by the high retaining wall of the Old Town and a host of Neoclassical temples. The street joins the square beside the Musée Rath, Geneva’s first art museum, opened in 1826, and still holding a changing series of world-class art shows (Tues & Thurs–Sun 10am–5pm, Wed noon–9pm; admission varies). Adjacent is the Grand-Théâtre, Geneva’s opera house and principal theatre stage, which only just clung onto its facade after the devastating fire of 1951, when a rehearsal of the last act of Wagner’s Walkyrie, in which Brunhilde is encircled by flames, got out of hand. Further round the square is the equally ornate Conservatoire de Musique. Heading south from Place Neuve through the enormous gates brings you into the Parc des Bastions, a tranquil patch of green below the Old Town ramparts that’s much beloved of students (the university buildings are all around) and old-timers playing giant chess. At the east edge of the park, in a dramatic location propping up the Old Town, is the gigantic Mur de la Réformation, a 100m-long wall erected in 1917 and dominated by forbidding, 5m-high statues of the four major Genevan reformers: Guillaume Farel, first to preach the Reformation in Geneva; Jean Calvin, leader of the Reform movement and spiritual father of the city; Théodore de Bèze, successor to Calvin; and John Knox, friend of Calvin and founder of Scottish Presbyterianism. Behind runs the motto of the city and the Reformation, Post Tenebras Lux (“After the Darkness, Light”). Various figures and bas-reliefs show scenes from Protestant history: just to the right of the main statues is Roger Williams, a Calvinist Puritan who sailed on the Mayflower and founded the city of Providence, Rhode Island. The English Parliament’s 1689 Bill of Rights – which established a constitutional monarchy under the Protestant king William of Orange, and barred Catholics from the throne – is also depicted, but Luther and Zwingli, whom Calvin came to disagree with, are relegated to blocks carved with their surnames flanking the wall. Some 2km south of the city centre, the suburb of Carouge is a quite different experience from Geneva proper. Practically deserted until 1754, the township, now as then beyond the city limits, was granted to Victor Amideus, King of Sardinia (ruling from Turin). The king envisioned Carouge as a trading competitor to Geneva – one day possibly overtaking it – and turned it into a refuge for Catholics, Protestants unable to stomach Geneva’s puritanical ways and, uniquely in Europe for the time, even Jews. Turinese architects developed a chessboard design of crisscrossing streets planted with trees, and low houses with wooden, Mediterranean-style galleries looking into internal gardens. From 1774 to 1792, this hamlet of a hundred people grew to a bustling town of four thousand and, although Carouge never did overtake Geneva, it’s still something of a refuge from the city, its quiet, attractive streets packed with artists’ workshops, old-style cafés and some of the city’s best small-scale nightlife. Its tourist-office tag is the “Greenwich Village of Geneva”, and although the street life is considerably less thrilling than that might suggest, it’s still worth a half-day wander. Trams #12 or #13 from the city centre can drop you at the Place du Marché in the heart of Carouge, still used as a marketplace and starting point for random exploration of the quarter. Rue St-Joseph is shoulder-to-shoulder artisans, from carpenters to milliners – check out the elegant exposed-mechanism clocks of Jean Kazes at no. 21, Anne-Claude Virchaux’s linen-cotton clothes at no. 13, and the delicate artworks of the florist Les Cinq Sens round the corner on Place du Temple. A major feature of Carouge are the delightful internal galleried gardens which lurk behind almost every gate: most are open, so feel free to explore. The Jet d’Eau fountain, icon of Geneva, is inescapable – emblazoned on every piece of tourist literature and every book about the city, it’s the logo of the tourist office and Geneva’s prime photo-op. Even if you happen to visit off season when it’s switched off, you’ll be in no doubt what you’re missing. Its predecessor dated from 1886, when the new hydraulic turbines on the Rhône built up excessive water pressure after the city’s craftsmen had closed the valves in their workshops and gone home. An engineer created a temporary outlet which spurted a 30m fountain to release the pressure while a reservoir system was developed, but by the time the fountain became unnecessary a few wily Genevois had caught on to its power as a tourist attraction. Then purely decorative, it was moved from the river to an exposed lakeside location, and furnished with more and more powerful pumps. Today, the height of the jet is an incredible 140m, with 500 liters of water forced out of the nozzle every second at about 200kph. Each drop takes sixteen seconds to complete the round-trip from nozzle to lake and, on windy days, the plume can rapidly drench the surroundings (they tend to turn it off if the wind picks up). It’s worth risking a dousing by walking out onto the jetty to appreciate the force and noise of the thing close up. The Jet d’Eau operates in summer (May–mid-Sept daily 9.30am–11.15pm; late-March–April & mid-Sept–Oct Mon–Fri 10am–sunset, Sat & Sun 10am–10.30pm), and also during the Motor Show in early March. It’s illuminated after dark. Ways to Get Around Trams, buses and trains Ticketing is organized by zone, with the city centre (but not Uetliberg or the airport) covered by Zone 10. Tickets bought from the machines at all stops can be used for all transport – both land- and water-based – within each zone, with unlimited changes permitted. The most useful Zone 10 ticket is the Fr.7.20 Tageskarte (press the green button), valid for 24 hours; the blue “Stadt Zürich” button gives a Zone 10 ticket valid for an hour (Fr.3.60); while the yellow “Kurzstrecke” button gives a short-hop one-way ticket (Fr.2.10) good for up to five stops – the black panel lists the stations for which it is valid. Swiss Pass holders travel free, but Eurailers and InterRailers must pay full price. On Friday and Saturday nights only (roughly 1–2.30am), a handful of night buses depart from Bellevue for various suburban destinations, for a flat Fr.5 – other tickets and passes are not valid. Bikes, mopeds and motorbikes Hotels for Tourist Hotel De La Paix- Situated on the banks of Lake Geneva and 500 meters from the train station, this hotel combines grandeur and modern style. Guestrooms contain a blend of rich fabrics and dark wood furnishings; all come with satellite TV and air conditioning. The hotel boasts sophisticated dining its grand restaurant, whilst cocktail can be savored in the chic surrounds of the bar.
Warwick Hotel- An air of quiet purposefulness pervades the lobby, dominated by a grand spiral staircase that leads up to the hotel's conference rooms. Refurbished in 1998, it attracts an international business clientele, a smattering of UN bureaucrats and the occasional tour group. Right beneath the stairway rests a piano, which comes into action in the evening as the adjoining bar gets busy. Seven meeting and banquet rooms cater for business needs and events. The main ballroom can cater for up to 350 guests. All the meeting rooms are equipped with advanced audio-visual equipment and secretarial and simultaneous translation services.
Swissotel Metrople- This grand hotel was built on the site of ancient battlements in 1854 and hosted the likes of Richard Wagner. In WWII the Red Cross took it over. It closed for renovations for five years in 1980 but preserves its original façade. Guestrooms were also renovated between 2000 and 2003. On entering, guests sweep up a staircase to reception. With its high ceilings, faux gray stone pillars, and glittering chandeliers it has a monumental feel that attracts mainly business clients. On the fourth floor of the hotel, the Amrita fitness center offers weights and a range of exercise machines and bikes, the latter equipped with TV sets. Six meeting rooms can accommodate up to 350 people on the ground and fifth floors. The Swiss office provides two PC terminals and other office equipment. Wireless Internet access (surcharge) is available in public areas and guestrooms.
Beau-Rivage- Since 1865, royalty, diplomats and stars have been dazzled by the five-floor atrium that lies at the core of this corner block hotel. The Mayer family originally built it as their private residence and they still run the hotel today. Tall marble columns, voluptuous statuary, a twinkling fountain and recently restored frescoes greet business people, VIPs, and couples on a romantic getaway. Sotheby's thought highly enough of the hotel to establish its Swiss HQ here in 1987. Guests can choose from seven elegant meeting rooms (including a film-set ballroom) to run meetings and events. The Masaryk room retains the furnishings and porcelain of what was the Mayer family dining room. In 2003, the hotel installed a Cisco Systems high-speed Internet network in all conference rooms, which can hold a total of 1,200 people.
Hotel Les Nations- Modern hotel set between two parks to the west of Lake Geneva, within two kilometers of the Old Town, museums and shops. Guestrooms are warmly decorated with paintings and ornaments; all include cable TV, wireless Internet and minibars. Guests can work out in the fitness center, relax in the sauna, or use the Internet corner and tour desk to plan their day.
Information on this page taken from www.isyours.com and www.expedia.com |
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This web site was constructed for a school project. Information was taken from the credited sites along with information from search engines. We can be reached at lpierson1@ucok.edu. |
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